Function 8 disrespectful to the Archbishop: MHA

The Ministry of Home Affairs Ministry has criticised civil society group Function 8 for being "disrespectful" to Archbishop Nicholas Chia (above) by publicising an incident where the head of the Catholic Church withdrew a letter he wrote to the group. -- ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM

By Tessa Wong

The Ministry of Home Affairs Ministry has criticised civil society group Function 8 for being "disrespectful" to Archbishop Nicholas Chia by publicising an incident where the head of the Catholic Church withdrew a letter he wrote to the group.

It added that the Government valued its long-standing relationship with the Catholic Church and deeply appreciated the Archbishop's contributions to religious harmony.

The Ministry was responding to media queries on comments made by Archbishop Chia on Wednesday explaining why he had withdrawn a letter of support to Function 8.

News of the letter emerged on Tuesday in a post by blogger Alex Au. In it, Mr Au said that the Archbishop had written a letter to the group supporting its campaign to abolish the Internal Security Act, only to retract it after meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who heads the ministry.